A 14 week experiment was carried out to study the effects of replacing
three different levels (33%, 66% and 100%) of berseem leaf meal (BLM)
by leucaena leaf meal (LLM) treated in four different ways (drying fo
r 48 h at 60 degrees C, autoclaved for 15 min, sprayed with 1% sodium
hydroxide and incubated with rumen liquor for 24 h). Groups of Nile ti
lapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), fingerlings (5.07 g mean weight) we
re fed one of 13 isonitrogenous (30% crude protein) and isocaloric (19
.67 W per g dry matter) diets, with two replicates (10 fish per aquari
um) for each treatment. The results indicated that weight gain, specif
ic growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein utilization paramete
rs were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by the higher percentage of
dried or cooked LLM in tilapia diets. On the other hand, the lowest g
rowth performance and feed utilization parameters were observed in the
groups fed LLM diets treated with sodium hydroxide or incubated with
rumen liquor. Carcass protein and fat increased significantly (p < 0.0
5) with increasing levels of LLM and simultaneously decreasing ash con
tent.